Innovations Impact on Efficiency of European Railway Companies

The aim of this paper is the assessment of innovations impact on European railways efficiency. In order to achieve sustainable transportation development, the key challenge is modal shift from road to rail, and development of single European transport market. Innovations in the railway transport sector contribute to the higher efficiency of transport services and promoting a more competitive and resource-efficient transport system. In the first stage of this study, efficiency scores are obtained through the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and the ranking of 23 railway companies for the time period from 2009 to 2013 is conducted. In the second stage, factors representing technological and organizational innovations are introduced. Using different statistical tests the impact of these factors on railways technical efficiency (TE) is analyzed. Results showed significant impact of innovations on efficiency level of railway companies. This paper considers most recent time period, thus enabling observation of current trends in European railway transport market. Innovations observed in this study represent key elements in the field of technological development and the structural organization of railways, with the aim of achieving sustainable European rail transport system.